Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

The Return Of The "Old" Winnipeg Jets?

02/04/2015 at 1:59pm EST

from Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun,

Five straight losses have significantly loosened their grip on a playoff spot, and has the Jets looking over their shoulders again, not at the teams above them.

What should have people reaching for the panic button, though, isn’t a simple losing streak. It’s how this team has suddenly begun to act like the old Jets.

You know, the immature, defensively inept bunch we got tired of watching the first three years. The one that cost Coach Claude his job just over a year ago.

Topping the list of concerns today is the return of Evander Kane to the coach’s doghouse, no minor detail given the circumstances in Vancouver, Tuesday night.

Kane was all set to play before his family and friends in his old hometown, only to see Paul Maurice banish him to the press box, presumably for breaking a team rule.

I say presumably because Kane had been one of the Jets better forwards of late. And if he’d been hurt, the Jets would have said so.

read on

added 3:17pm, from Ben Kuzma of the Vancouver Province.

Fast forward to a stunning Tuesday development and you can’t help but feel that Kane played his trade-me trump card. On a day when the Jets desperately needed Kane to make a difference to end a four-game losing streak and cling to a wild-card playoff position, he held court with the media in the morning and was then a late healthy scratch for disciplinary reasons. It was for what occurred during the day — not very late the previous night – and with the winger’s family and friends in attendance at Rogers Arena, coach Paul Maurice did what he had to do to get to Kane. He scratched him.

A party-boy image hasn’t helped Kane. He likes the bright lights and Winnipeg is light years away from Las Vegas. The six-year, $31.5 million US contract extension he signed in 2012 after his only 30-goal season was a just reward for being on the cusp of evolving into one of the game’s brightest young stars. He hasn’t hit 20 goals since. With three more seasons at a $6 million annual cap hit, there’s always going to be trade-market interest because of what he has done and what he could do. But unless a suitor has a mentor who can reach Kane on some level, his value is only going to diminish. The Jets know that but they’re also chasing a playoff berth. They need Kane but they don’t need the repeated headaches.

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Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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